Aundré Bumgardner: Carrying The Hopes Of His Party On His Slender Shoulders

State Rep.-elect Aundré Bumgardner of Groton is a socially progressive politician with a strong libertarian streak. An environmentalist who was endorsed by the NRA, he supports legalized abortion, reinstating tolls at the state's borders and an earned income tax credit for the poor.

Now, after ousting a four-term Democratic incumbent Nov. 4 by a scant 39 votes, according to the unofficial results, Bumgardner carries the hopes of the Connecticut GOP on his slender shoulders.

He is 20.

"Aundré is part of the next generation of leaders in our party,'' said state Republican Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr.

Along with state Sen. Art Linares, 26, and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, 27, Bumgardner is bringing a much-needed jolt of excitement to a party that suffered a series of stinging setbacks in the state on Election Day. Gubernatorial nominee Tom Foley and the GOP candidates for Congress and the state Constitutional office all came up short, although Republicans did pick up a total of 10 seats in the state House.

Aundre Bumgardner

MICHAEL McANDREWS, Hartford Courant

Aundre Bumgardner, 20, takes a selfie with Alanna Riley, manager at Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, a shop in downtown Mystic. Bumgardner is possibly the youngest to have been elected to the State General Assembly representing parts of New London, Groton and part of Mystic.

Aundre Bumgardner, 20, takes a selfie with Alanna Riley, manager at Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream, a shop in downtown Mystic. Bumgardner is possibly the youngest to have been elected to the State General Assembly representing parts of New London, Groton and part of Mystic. (MICHAEL McANDREWS, Hartford Courant)

Bumgardner beat Democrat Elissa Wright, 68, who has represented the 41st District since Bumgardner was in middle school. He did it with skill, swagger and a whole lot of shoe leather, knocking on more than 5,000 doors. Republicans are outnumbered by both unaffiliated voters and Democrats in the district, which includes the southern tip of New London as well as much of Groton.

"He's very smart, very articulate and he just went out there and banged on doors,'' said former Congressman Rob Simmons, who has known Bumgardner for years and has helped guide his nascent political career. "He's highly motivated and he did a great job."

But when the subject turns to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Andrikis turns tough. "The governor...

(Dan Haar)

Simmons recalled the conversation when Bumgardner announced this year that he was running for the legislature. "I told him maybe he ought to wait a little bit,'' Simmons said."But he said, 'No, I'm ready.' He was determined to do it."

Rep. Themis Klarides, the newly elected leader of the House Republican caucus, got to know Bumgardner during the campaign."I've been so impressed by his maturity, work ethic and enthusiasm,'' she said.

Brimming with confidence, Bumgardner, who will be younger than many of the interns at the Capitol, sees the sweep of history in his win. "I represent a new generation of leadership in the Republican party,'' he said, noting that his vote totals outpaced those of Tom Foley, who led the Republican ticket.

He hasn't received the national buzz that is hovering around 18-year-old Saira Blair of West Virginia, who will become the youngest state lawmaker in the nation when she is sworn in January. But Bumgardner is part of a select group: less than 5 percent of state legislators currently serving are under 30, said Morgan Cullen, senior policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In Connecticut, that circle includes Linares, as well as state Rep. David Arconti Jr., D-Danbury; state Rep. Chris Davis, R-Ellington; state Rep.-elect Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford; state Rep.-elect Jesse MacLachlan of Westbrook and state Rep.-elect Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford.

Bumgardner says he believes he is one of the youngest people to serve in the legislature since 1984, when a UConn student named Jonathan Pelto was elected to the House. Pelto went on to serve five terms, rising to the level of Deputy Majority Leader, and made an unsuccessful bid to be on the gubernatorial ballot this year. Republican state Rep. Sean Williams of Watertown was 21 when he was first elected in 2003.

Bumgardner received a boost from public financing, which allowed him to run an aggressive campaign. He also credits his young and energetic campaign manager, Marisa Evans, who graduated from Quinnipiac University in the spring. But he says his narrow victory is mainly due to those personal connections with voters. "I went into areas Republicans never go into,'' he said. "We brought the fight directly to the voters."

Going door-to-door, he emphasized his independent streak. Bumgardner's liberal views on social issues put him sharply out of step with the national Republican party, but on most fiscal matters, he walks the conservative line of lower taxes and less government regulation. One notable exception: he is a big supporter of the state's earned income tax credit for the poor, a policy championed by Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Bumgardner's mother, a school principal in Windham, is Puerto Rican; his father, who works in East Lyme's water and sewer department, is of Panamanian and African American heritage.

The oldest of three, Bumgardner grew up in Groton but attended magnet schools in New London. He was in fourth grade when he first encountered a literacy teacher named Heidi Simmons, Rob Simmons' wife. "That's a motivated kid,'' she said. "He was always upbeat. Other kids would say, 'I'm done with this assignment,' but he was never done."

Heidi Simmons and a fellow teacher at the school remembered what Bumgardner told them at fifth-grade graduation: "Someday I'm going to be president."

After middle school, Bumgardner earned an academic scholarship to the Cambridge School of Weston, a private boarding school just outside Boston. He completed his freshman year at Stetson University in central Florida but returned home with the goal of running for office.

Bumgardner says he intends to focus on ensuring that the state is welcoming to people in their 20s. "If you talk to people my age, you'll find that Connecticut isn't the place to be right now,'' he said. "I want to make sure we create a state where everyone feels welcome."

Despite his youth, he gained experience in the political trenches before becoming a candidate. He worked as an intern on Foley's 2010 campaign for governor and also served as Paul Formica's field director in 2012, when Formica ran for Congress in the 2nd District.

Bumgardner says one of his biggest inspirations is his brother, who has autism. His goal to join the legislature's intellectual and developmental disability caucus is rooted in his devotion to 11-year-old Benjamin.

"I put my brother on the bus every day at 8:30 and I get him off at 3:30,'' Bumgardner said. "He's a very special kid."

Editor's note: This story has been revised to include references to Sean Williams, who was 21 when he was elected to the legislature in 2003, and state Rep.-elect Jesse MacLachlan of Westbrook, who is also under 30.